Good Week/Bad Week in Branding

Good Week: Microsoft – With the $26.2B acquisition of LinkedIn – one of the largest-ever tech tie-ups – the company becomes a major social-media player and advances its stated goal of moving toward providing more services (vs. software) to corporations. On a personal note, I will now sit back and wait for Bill Gates to endorse my brand-architecture skills.

Bad Week: Trader Joe’s – As part of a settlement with the EPA and the Justice Department, the grocery chain will spend millions over the next three years to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration equipment in its 450 stores nationwide. The company also received a civil penalty of $500K (or roughly the annual price of feeding a family of four at Trader Joe’s).

Huh?!?: Tribune Company – Rebranding itself as a high-tech journalism leader, the perennially cash-strapped newspaper company – owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune – announced that it has officially changed its name to… “Tronc” (short for “Tribune online content”). Tronc lunch box and action figures sold separately.